The Court Reporters’ Book Club

After weeks of almost gossip-like testimony in the James Botti federal corruption trial, there isn’t much to do while waiting for the jury to come out with a verdict. 

So reporters have camped out in the court house, armed with books and magazines, to wait. 

At the suggestion of ex-CT Post scribe Tony Spinelli, we’ve compiled a list of those books to share with you. 

In alphabetical order by author’s last name, here they are:

Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour by David Bianculli

Connecticut Post reporter Michael Mayko picked up this non-fiction book as his third read during deliberations. 

The book details the Smothers Brothers comedy show that, according to the book jacket, ​“shocked the censors, outraged the White House, and forever changed the face of television.”

The Smothers Brothers ran on CBS in the late 1960s, before being pulled from the air. 

Spooner by Pete Dexter

Valley Indy reporter Jodie Mozdzer (me) is reading ​“Spooner,” the latest novel by retired newspaper columnist Pete Dexter. 

Reviewers call the book semi-autobiographical: it details the relationship between title character, Spooner, and his quiet step-father. 

The book follows Spooner through his life of self destruction, including two bar fights on the same night with the same group of people.

“In true Pete Dexter fashion, the book has intense characters and graphic storytelling, laid out in digestible, short chapters,” I said.

The Bride Stripped Bare by Nikki Gemmell

Valley Indy intern Vanessa Inzitari is reading this novel about a woman who disappears, told through the entries of her journal.

Gemmell, and Australian author, wrote the book anonymously, but was later outed as the author. 

The book details the love life of the missing woman. 

“It’s weird-interesting and slightly racy,” Inzitari said. 

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

New Haven Register Valley bureau chief Michelle Tuccitto Sullo is reading this novel by the author of the Twilight series. 

The book is about an alien species that has taken over the earth, and invades human bodies. 

“So far it’s pretty good, but I like the Twilight series better,” Tuccitto Sullo said. 

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